Artist, philosopher... Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich

ATA birth: 9 Oct 1874
date of death: 13 Dec 1947
Place of birth: Saint-Петербург, Rossi
Nikolay Roerich, an outstanding figure of Russian and world culture. Artist, philosopher, writer, scholar, public figure and traveler. He left behind a great artistic heritage – more than seven thousand paintings, about thirty volumes of literary works.

Childhood and adolescence
Nicholas Roerich was born in St. Petersburg on 9 October 1874. His father Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich was the influential lawyer. Mother Mariya was a housewife, raising children. Nicholas had an older sister Lydia and two younger brothers – Vladimir and Boris.
In the childhood the boy was fond of history, read a lot. Sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin, who was a frequent visitor to the Roerich family, I noticed that Ron has a talent for drawing, and began to teach art and crafts. Roerich studied at the gymnasium of Karl May. His classmates was Alexander Benois, Dmitry Filosofov.
enrolled in the Imperial Academy of arts. And in parallel studied at the University. The Academy worked in the Studio of eminent artist Arkhip Kuindzhi. At this time, a close relationship with Ilya Repin, Nikolay Roman-Корсаковым, Anatoly Letovym and others.
a student, she went on archaeological excavations, and in 1895 he became a member of the Russian archaeological society. During these trips he recorded the stories of local folklore.

Overseas visitors

In 1897, Roerich graduated from the Academy of fine arts. His graduation work was a painting" Гонец", it was acquired for the gallery Pavel Tretyakov. At the same time, the young artist received the position of assistant to the head of the Imperial Museum, and in parallel worked in publishing" Искусство and art промышленность".

the Way to Shambhala

Everest

since 1905, Roerich worked on the design of ballet, Opera and drama productions. In this time Nicholas has been active in the artistic revival of Russia and preservation of ancient monuments.

the Lights of victory

In 1903 he organized the trip to the old cities. At this time, wrote a series of sketches of monuments of Russian architecture. Also, the artist created sketches for the painting of churches and chapels. In 1910 he participated in archaeological excavations in which he found the remains of the Ancient Kremlin of Novgorod.

Portrait of Roerich

In 1913, Roerich began work on two panels" Сеча at the Kerzhenets river" and" Покорение Kazan". The size of the paintings was impressive." Покорение Kazan" was created for the decoration of the Kazan railway station in Moscow. But-за war the construction of the station was delayed. Temporary panels were transferred to the Academy of arts.
But the new head of its personal reasons decided to destroy the Academy Museum and all the exhibits, it was. In the end, the painting by Roerich was cut into pieces and distributed to the students. So irrevocably lost work of a great artist.

Blessed soul. Ramakrishna.

Also Nicholas Roerich worked on the design of a book-журнальной graphics, for example, he participated in the creation of editions of the plays of Maurice Maeterlinck. In 1918, Roerich moved to the United States. In new-Йорке he created the Institute of United arts. In 1923, the city began to operate the Roerich Museum was the first Museum of the Russian artist, outdoor outside Russia.

Horse happiness

But perhaps the greatest mark on the creativity of Nicholas Roerich left his expedition in the Himalayas. In 1923 he and his family came to India. He immediately began to prepare for the most important journey in his life – an expedition to remote places in Central Asia.

Russian Easter

These areas interested him not only as an artist. He wanted to study and solve problems related to the global migration of ancient peoples. The route was long and complicated. He passed through Sikkim, Kashmir, Xinjiang (China), Siberia, Altai, Tibet and even unexplored region of Transhimalaya.

Coga Gohan

the amount of material collected on this expedition can be easily entered into number of the largest expeditions of the twentieth century. It lasted 39 months from 1925 to 1928.
Perhaps the most popular paintings Roerich created under impression from the trip and the great mountains. The artist has created a series of paintings" Учителя East"," Матерь the World" – the cycle dedicated to the Great Feminine. During this period he wrote more than 600 paintings. In his work at the fore of the philosophical quest.

Agni Yoga

large and literary heritage of Nicholas Roerich. He has published a collection of poems" Цветы of Moria", a few prose books" Твердыня Flaming"," Алтай-Гималаи"," Шамбала" etc.

Alexander Nevsky

But perhaps the main literary works of Roerich is a spiritual teaching" Агни-йога" or" Живая Ethics". It was created with the participation of the spouse of Nikolay Konstantinovich Helena Roerich. First and foremost is the philosophy of cosmic reality, the natural evolution of the Cosmos. According to the teaching of the meaning of evolution of mankind – the spiritual enlightenment and improvement.

the last angel

In 1929 by Roerich, Nicholas began a new phase in the history of mankind was adopted the Roerich Pact. It was the first in the history of the document, which was about the protection of the world cultural heritage. Treaty on the protection of artistic and scientific institutions and of historic monuments was signed by 21 countries.
Personal life
Landmark year for Nicholas Roerich became the 1899. He met his future wife Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova. She had come from a family of St. Petersburg intellectuals. Since childhood, fond of drawing and piano, and later began to study philosophy, religion and mythology. They immediately liked each other, equally looked at the world. So soon their sympathy grew into a strong feeling. In 1901, the young couple got married.

All my life, they complement each other in creative and spiritual terms. Elena had shared any of her husband"s initiatives, was a reliable companion and a loyal friend. In 1902, there appeared their firstborn son George. And in 1904 was born the son of Svyatoslav.

Nikolai Roerich and his sons

In his books Roerich, Elena Ivanovna was referred to as" вдохновительницей" and" другиней". New paintings he showed in the first place to her, trusting her intuition and taste. In all the trips and expeditions Elena Ivanovna accompanied by his wife. Thanks to her, Roerich became acquainted with the works of thinkers of India.

Boris and Gleb

There is a theory that Helena was ill with a mental illness. This was evidenced by their family doctor Yalovenko. He wrote that the woman is suffering" эпилептической aura". According to him, such patients often hear voices and see invisible items. Doctor reported and Nicholas. But it is this information perceived cold. Roerich often fell under its influence and even believed in her psychic abilities.

Messenger. Rebelled rod to rod

Death
in 1939, Nicholas was diagnosed, indicating heart disease. In recent years, the artist wanted to return to Russia, but the war started, then he was denied an entry visa. In the spring of 1947, has come the long-awaited resolution. The Roerichs began to prepare for departure.

the Himalayas. Pink mountain

13 December 1947, when it was Packed and more than 400 paintings, Nicholas Roerich was finishing picture" Приказ teacher". Suddenly his heart stopped beating. Buried great artist according to Indian custom, the body burn and scattered in the wind with the top of the mountain.

Crown

Sketch of scenery for the Opera" Князь Igor"

the mother of the World

Battle with the snakes

Text: https://24smi.org/celebrity/9746-nikolai-rerikh.html